Venerable Yogesvara das remembers Preparing now for the practice of Yoganidra.
Checking your environment to ensure that you will remain undisturbed for the next 30 minutes or so.
No interruptions,
No responsibilities.
This practice is traditionally done lying on your back in the position of Shavasana,
But you can be sitting in a chair or leaning against a wall or any other comfortable position if you'd prefer.
If you are lying in Shavasana,
Make sure that you have enough cushions to support the body comfortably.
You may need a cushion underneath the knees or the thighs just to tilt the back a little and make the lower back a little bit more comfortable.
You might also want to put a fairly flat cushion underneath your head if your neck isn't comfortable in this position.
And making sure that you have adequate warmth as well,
So perhaps a blanket.
Having the feet about hip width apart,
Feet falling out to the side,
So don't wrap your blanket around your feet too tightly.
This will allow the pelvic area and the legs to relax a little bit more fully.
Arms are beside the body but not touching.
Arms are facing up,
Letting the fingers curl gently.
And tucking the shoulder blades underneath the body at the back,
So the back is lying flat on the floor.
There's nothing sharp sticking into the floor that might disturb your practice.
Gently rock the head from ear to ear,
Making each rock shorter,
Until the head comes to rest once again at centre,
Spine,
Neck and head aligned.
And draw the chin slightly in towards the chest to release any tension in the neck.
Facial expression soft,
Focusing in on the tiny muscles around the eyes and the mouth.
Letting the jaw relax,
Teeth are unclenched and the tongue resting at the bottom of the mouth.
Take a moment to scan through the body,
Checking for any last minute adjustments that might need to be made for comfort and ease.
And once your body is comfortable enough that you think you can remain still for the rest of the practice,
Then become still and let go down into the floor.
Allowing the floor to take the full weight of the body with no effort from you.
Become aware of the natural breath.
Allowing the breath to float in and out of the body in its own time.
Begin noticing the sensations created by the breath.
Begin noticing the contact points between the body and the surface beneath.
Noticing these contact points changing with the breath.
Notice other sensations on the skin created by the breath.
The movement of the clothing and the coverings against the skin.
The movement of the breath in the nostrils.
The coolness of the in-breath and the warmth of the out-breath.
On the next inhalation,
Feel yourself taking a long slow deep breath in from the tips of the toes to the top of the head and then let it go with a sigh and twice more.
Breathing in a sense of peace and calmness.
Breathing out any tensions and worries and letting them go.
Letting the breath return to a natural state.
Begin noticing sensations on the skin.
The movement of air against exposed skin.
Then take the awareness into the outside environment,
Scanning for sound.
Reaching the awareness as far into the distance as possible and gradually circling closer and closer to the body,
Hunting out sounds.
Keep moving from sound to sound,
Not letting the awareness become stuck on one sound.
Keep hunting out new sounds.
Focus on the sounds within the room.
Subtle sounds within the body,
Digestion,
Sound of the breath,
Heartbeat.
Now bring to mind your sankalpa,
Your resolve.
Could be a life's purpose or a goal for change.
And mentally repeat it at least three times,
Listening for the sound of that repetition.
Letting go of the sankalpa now and preparing for the next stage of the practice,
Rotation of awareness through the body parts.
As each body part is named,
Take the awareness to that part of the body and feel that part of the body becoming soft,
Warm and relaxed.
Beginning on the right side,
Becoming aware of the right hand thumb,
Feeling the right hand thumb becoming soft,
Warm and relaxed.
First finger of the right hand,
Second finger,
Third,
Fourth.
Palm of the right hand,
Creases on the palm,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Right side of the chest,
Waist,
Hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Shin,
Ankle,
Top of the right foot,
Right big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth toe,
Five toes together,
Soft,
Warm and relaxed.
Moving to the left side now,
Becoming aware of the left hand thumb,
Soft,
Warm and relaxed.
First finger of the left hand,
Second finger,
Third,
Fourth.
Palm of the left hand,
Creases on the palm,
Back of the hand,
Wrist,
Forearm,
Elbow,
Upper arm,
Shoulder,
Armpit,
Left side of the chest,
Waist,
Hip,
Thigh,
Knee,
Shin,
Ankle,
Top of the left foot,
Left big toe,
Second toe,
Third,
Fourth,
Fifth toe,
Five toes together,
Soft,
Warm and relaxed.
Moving up the back of the body now,
Awareness to the sole of the right foot,
Sole of the left foot,
Right heel,
Left heel,
Right calf,
Left calf,
Right buttock,
Left buttock,
Lower back,
Middle of the back,
Right shoulder blade,
Left shoulder blade,
Back of the neck,
The spine from bottom to top,
The spine from bottom to top,
Back of the head,
Crown of the head,
Top of the head.
Moving down the front side now,
Awareness to the forehead,
Right eyebrow,
Left eyebrow,
Eyebrow center,
Eyebrow center,
Eyebrow center,
Soft,
Warm and relaxed,
Right temple,
Left temple,
Right eye,
Left eye,
Right eyelashes,
Left eyelashes,
Right ear,
Left ear,
Right cheek,
Left cheek,
Right nostril,
Left nostril,
Bridge of the nose,
Tip of the nose,
Top lip,
Bottom lip,
Space between the lips,
The teeth,
Tongue,
Jaw from ear to ear,
Throat,
Chest,
Top of the abdomen,
Navel,
Bottom of the abdomen and the whole pelvic area.
Moving to whole body parts now,
Feeling whole body parts becoming soft,
Warm and relaxed,
The whole of the right leg from hip to toe,
The whole of the left leg from hip to toe,
Both legs together,
The whole of the right arm,
Shoulder to fingertip,
Whole of the left arm,
Shoulder to fingertip,
Both arms together,
Both legs,
Both arms,
The front of the trunk,
Back of the trunk,
Whole trunk,
Both legs,
Both arms,
Whole trunk,
Whole neck,
Face,
The scalp,
Whole head,
Whole body,
Whole body,
Whole body becoming soft,
Warm and relaxed.
And taking the awareness now to the natural breath as it moves within the nostrils,
Allowing the breath to stay completely natural and simply watching as it floats in and out of the nasal passages.
Visualising the nasal passages as a triangle,
The apex where these two sides meet at the eyebrow centre.
On the inhalation,
Follow the breath up both sides of the triangle to the eyebrow centre and on the exhalation,
Imagine the breath is coming from the eyebrow centre,
Travelling down both the nostrils and out past the nose tip.
Continue.
Beginning now to visualise the breath moving in and out of alternate nostrils.
On the next inhalation,
Visualise the breath coming in through the left nostril to the eyebrow centre and out through the right nostril from the eyebrow centre,
In through the right and out through the left,
In through the left and so on.
The awareness begins to wander at any point and loses track of the practice.
It doesn't matter,
It's okay.
Just draw it back gently and again begin visualising the breath travelling in through the left nostril and out through the right once more.
Letting go of the visualisation now,
Maintaining awareness of the breath,
Begin focusing on the in-breath,
Begin noticing the coolness of the in-breath,
Allowing that coolness to spread through the whole body,
Creating sensations of coolness through the whole body.
With each incoming breath,
Body becomes cooler and cooler.
Now move the awareness to the out-breath,
Focusing on the exhalation,
Noticing the warmth of the out-breath,
Beginning to create sensations of warmth throughout the body,
Warmer and warmer with each outgoing breath.
Begin releasing awareness of the breath and creating sensations of a normal temperature within the body,
Neither cool nor warm,
Just a normal comfortable temperature.
Now begin creating sensations of lightness in the body,
Lighter and lighter,
Almost like the body is made of vapour floating just off the floor.
Now change these sensations,
Giving the body a sense of density,
Of heaviness,
More and more solid,
Settling more deeply into the floor.
Now creating sensations of a normal density,
So the body is now neither light nor heavy,
But just a normal comfortable density.
Bringing the awareness away now from the physical sensations,
Moving to the space in front of the closed eyes,
Known in yoga as Chitakasha or the movie screen of the mind,
And within this space,
Create the following visualisations,
Golden sand,
Golden sand,
A bird's nest,
A bird's nest,
Clear blue sky,
Clear blue sky,
Storm clouds gathering,
Storm clouds gathering,
Summer thunderstorm,
A summer thunderstorm,
Sunrise from a mountain top,
Sunrise from a mountain top,
Dew drops on rose petals,
Dew drops on rose petals,
Seaweed,
Seaweed,
Present moon,
Present moon,
A rainforest,
A rainforest,
Allowing these images to dissolve,
And bringing to mind your sankalpa once more.
Mentally repeat it at least three times,
Knowing that it will come true for you when the time is right.
And allow the sankalpa to dissolve,
Flowing through every cell in the whole body,
Renewing your commitment for change at a cellular level,
And becoming aware of your whole body once more,
Feeling the whole body lying on the floor in this position,
Become aware of the contact points between the body and the surface beneath,
Feel how the body has softened during the practice,
And become aware of other sensations on the skin,
Clothing,
Coverings,
Moving against the skin in rhythm with the breath,
And begin allowing the breath to deepen just a little,
And notice how these sensations change with a deeper breath.
Visualise the body as though looking down from above,
See the expression on your face,
The clothes and the coverings,
See the body breathing,
And then expanding the awareness out into the room in which you're lying,
Recalling the features of the room around your body,
The colours of the walls,
The floor and the ceiling,
The furniture or objects you can remember,
The locations of doors and windows,
Moving the awareness beyond the walls of the room into the outside environment,
And begin listening for outside sounds,
Preparing to end the practice and continue on with your day.
Listening for the sound of the singing bowl.
The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.
The practice of yoga nidra is now complete.
Introducing gentle movement,
Begin wriggling fingers and toes.
Feel what your body needs to get it moving again.
You might want to have a stretch or a bend or a massage.
When you're ready to change positions,
Come to lie on your right side,
Resting there for a moment.
Then when you're ready,
Coming into a comfortable seated position,
You might like to do a full body tap or a little bit of palming to wake your body up again and continue on with your day.
Arirang Tethzat.
